This disclosure relates to a temporarily protected seal for use in a gas turbine engine during insulation of the seal. The disclosure also relates to a method of protecting the seal prior to installation.
A gas turbine engine typically includes a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section. Air entering the compressor section is compressed and delivered into the combustor section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-speed exhaust gas flow. The high-speed exhaust gas flow expands through the turbine section to drive the compressor and the fan section. The compressor section typically includes low and high pressure compressors, and the turbine section includes low and high pressure turbines.
Seals are used in numerous locations within a gas turbine engine between static and rotating structure. The seals may include fragile features that are susceptible to damage during installation of the rotating structure relative to the static structure during engine assembly. One method has been proposed to protect the seal by first expanding the seal, which includes movable segments circumferentially separated by gaps. These gaps are enlarged and then a material, such as wax, is inserted into the enlarged gaps to hold the segments apart from one another providing a seal with an expanded diameter. However, fragile features, if present on an inner diameter of such a seal, may still be exposed and susceptible to damage despite the expanded diameter of the seal.